Refurbishment traffic jams at schools: Thuringia's municipalities remain steadfast despite problems

Refurbishment traffic jams at schools: Thuringia's municipalities remain steadfast despite problems

Currently in Thuringia, renovation needs at schools are a hotly discussed topic. According to its calculations, the State Audit Office recommends thinking about possible school closings, but most municipalities are unimpressed. A survey by the German Press Agency showed that the school authorities want to hold on to their buildings, despite a considerable need for renovation. The shocking numbers of the Court of Auditors alone show that the need for construction was determined at around 1.1 billion euros for eleven school authorities. This situation initiates the report of n-tv, which describes the major challenges in the field of education.

As the Thuringian Ministry of Education forecast, the number of students will decrease sharply in the coming years. In particular, the Unstrut-Hainich district and Erfurt are faced with the difficult decision to discuss school closings in the event of a falling number of schoolchildren. However, while the occupancy of the schools in Erfurt is partly over 100 percent, the municipalities plan a transparent approach to school network planning, as can be seen from the report by MDR.

renovation requirement in numbers

The need for renovation for all schools in Thuringia is a total of 3.3 billion euros according to the element of the Auditors. In 2023, 28 school buildings and sports halls were examined by eleven school carriers. The budget requirement for these carriers is therefore a considerable 1.1 billion euros. Around half of the trained schools do not meet the structural requirements for contemporary learning or the requirements of accessibility. University and the [GEW Thuringia] (https://www.gew-thueringen.de/aktuelles/details page/lich-kerkent-der-tder-darungenhof-den-sanierungstau-an-thueringer-schools) therefore demand that the state policy together with the municipalities are required to improve the infrastructure in schools.

The city of Erfurt has a particularly high need for renovation. Here 340 million euros are required for 81 school buildings and 47 sports halls. Jena faces a need of 88 million euros, while the Unstrut-Hainich district estimates an investment gap of 80 million euros. On the other hand, the city of Weimar is relatively well positioned, since almost all schools and sports halls have been renovated and a total of 53 million euros have been invested in the buildings since 2009.

The role of the unions and politics

The GEW Thuringia is clearly taking a position and calls on the ministries to remedy the investment backlog in the school area and ensure adequate school care. The chair of GEW, Kathrin Vitzthum, emphasizes the need for a solid infrastructure for learning and indicates the large regional differences in the expenses for school buildings in Thuringia. According to her statement, it is urgently necessary for the state government to expand the school construction investment program and also support the municipalities.

In the middle of this renovation backlog, the municipalities' wish to not have to close the schools seems understandable. Despite the tense financial situation and the high investment needs, it is stated that the occupancy of the schools often remains high. The hope of better financial resources and solid planning in the next few years will remain future -proof.